Va. College Costs Rise Less

Virginia undergraduates heading to class this month will benefit from the lowest increase in tuition and mandatory fees in a decade, paying on average an additional $384 at four-year institutions and $165 at community colleges.

The average increase at all public colleges and universities is 4.1 percent this academic year for in-state students, compared with a 7.9 percent increase the previous year, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia said Wednesday.

Gov. Bob McDonnell released SCHEV's annual report at the student commons of Virginia Commonwealth University, a school he publicly reprimanded two years ago when the VCU board approved a 24 percent increase in tuition and fees.

In an event attended by students, education officials and lawmakers, McDonnell tied the lower increases to reforms and reinvestment resulting from the 2011 Higher Education Opportunity Act, also known as "Top Jobs" legislation for the effort to link diplomas to employment.